


Let Me Tell You

by Rueitae



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Destiny, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gift Giving, Love Confessions, Meklavar has a lot of them, Meklavar is good at pep talks, Monsters, Monsters & Mana (Voltron), Pike is scared of actually falling in love, Secrets, Visions, but he also likes it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22011406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rueitae/pseuds/Rueitae
Summary: After the successful recovery of the Jewel of Jitan, Pike is assisting Meklavar in escorting it back to its home (he helped retrieve it, he might as well make sure it gets all the way home). On the Eve of the Winter Festival, they are stopped at an inn, ready to retire for the night, when Meklavar presents Pike with a gift. His life won't be the same after tonight.
Relationships: Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt, Pikelavar
Comments: 7
Kudos: 28
Collections: Pikelavar Week





	Let Me Tell You

**Author's Note:**

> My contribution to the Winter Pikelavar Event! I tried to hit all the prompts! I'll point them out in the end notes.

“I got you this!” Meklavar declares. 

She bows her head swiftly, but Pike is certain he catches the soft flush in her cheeks before only the horns atop her helmet faces him. He does not think it is from the warmth of the fireplace.

Meklavar’s body is rigid and her tiny arms shake from the strain of holding the object before him - or perhaps from the slightly ajar window of their room at this inn - it  _ is _ particularly chilly tonight and smells of a storm in the air. In her thickly gloved hands is an ornate box, covered in festive paper and ribbons. 

Pike blinks, knowing what this is for, yet utterly confused. “You got me… a Winter Festival gift?”

Yes, the two of them had become fast friends since defeating the Coranic dragon. Yes, they’d traveled together and vastly enjoyed each other’s company - even being alone with each other for several months while he helped her sniff out her family’s priceless Jewel of Jitan (which was safely in her bag at the moment, tucked securely under the large,  _ single _ bed in the room). The least Pike figured he could do was see to that the Jewel was returned properly after all the work he’d put in searching for it.

And now, here on their last stop before her home, on the eve of the Winter Festival, she offers him a gift. 

The treasure enthusiast part of him wants to jump at it, but he knows his heart is racing for a different reason. Winter Festival gifts are given to very close friends and family only. It touches his heart that Meklavar considers him as such and he wants nothing more than to embrace it. He long misses his own family, and their group is the closest he’s come to having one in a while. The fact that it comes from Meklavar stirs a warm feeling in his heart. 

He hesitates, scratching at his temple, tail twitching in nervousness. He hasn’t received any sort of gift since he was a child. Although he trusts her, it seems too good to be true. “You didn’t have to get me anything, Mek. I told you I’d help you find the Jewel of Jitan ‘cause you’re a friend.”

Meklavar lifts her head, teeth barred and face more red than a tomato. “Just take it!” she yells, though it hardly comes off in her usual abrasive way, not with her voice cracking as she shoves the box into his gut.

Pike takes it into his hands and examines it (treasure is his area of expertise after all). It’s professionally done. The paper is high quality and the bow is of silk. Meklavar had paid a pretty penny for just the wrapping alone. He salivates at the thought of what might be inside, excitement overriding all of his past hesitation. It would be in poor taste to refuse such a thoughtful gift. 

With more care than he puts into dismantling most traps, he unties the bow and tears the seam in the paper to salvage most of it. With a foreclaw, he tears the packing paper underneath to reveal…

A sapphire. 

The figure of a lion graces his hands - made of pure sapphire. Its eyes shine with… gold? Pike licks the sockets and his heart nearly stops. The eyes are actual gold. The materials are not all that is high quality, equally so is the craftsmanship. The detail down to the lion’s claws and fluff on its tail and mane were done with specialist tools, available only to those who serve kings. 

For all that he loves to chat up a storm, right now he can’t find the words. It’s one of the most precious objects he’s ever held, the like seen only in cathedrals and palaces. 

“H-how…” Pike wants to ask how she came up with the money to buy this. Had she stolen it? 

Why had she given it to  _ him _ ? 

Meklavar turns away, arms wrapped around herself. “It wasn’t as expensive as you think,” she begins, as if reading his mind. “I’m a dwarf, remember? Precious metals are my thing too.”

Pike knows his mouth gapes, but he just can’t help it. So broken is his mind that Meklavar would part with something so.... valuable. His breath hitches as he says, “This is incredible. I’m… I can’t accept this.” His heart races. “You know I’m a thi--”

“You know more about treasure than anyone I know,” Meklavar interrupts, before he can name the occupation he’s so vehemently denied since first meeting her. Her amber eyes shine at him like gold, telling him that she will not hear the end of that sentence, nor will he return the gift to her. “It’s yours.” Her gaze flickers away, towards the bay window. “I don’t care what you do with it. Sell it for coin if you want. I just… wanted to get you something nice.” 

His heart thrums to the beat of the clacking window in the gusty wind. Meklavar stalks over, bringing both panels towards her chest at the same time to close it, her back to him. The wind still howls outside, but inside their room it is noticeably warmer already. 

“Like quiznak I’d sell it, not anything from you!” Pike’s eyes grow wide when he realizes what he’s said. Meklavar is special to him, if she’d given him a new cloak he’d wear it every day! “I mean, you went through all this trouble, it - it’s gorgeous - Mek! It’s practically  _ priceless _ !” At least now he knows why she waited to give it to him when they were alone in the room rather than on the road. “I haven’t done anything to deserve something like  _ this _ .”

“It has nothing to do if you deserve it or not,” Meklavar says, staring out the window with a flush in her cheeks. “I wanted to get this for you. And if you have to know, you  _ do _ deserve this.” She pauses. Though the storm goes on in her eyes, a thoughtful expression is etched on her face as her voice softens, “More than you know.”

Pike can’t help but roll his eyes back, a sharp, cynical laugh escaping before he can catch it. “You don’t know anything about me before I joined your group.”

She doesn’t know how many times he’s had to live up to the title of an assassin. 

“The story of the Five Lions,” she begins instead of answering him directly. “You heard that growing up didn’t you?”

The abrupt change of subject whisks the thoughts of his past away. “Of course,” he responds cautiously, unsure of what the child’s tale had to do with anything. “Who doesn’t?” 

The Lions and their elven queen was a popular bedtime story, rooted in the creation of the planet itself. Black for the dark sky at night and protection during sleep, Red for the molten earth that formed the core and the passionate sunsets, Yellow for the sturdy bedrock and golden sunrise, Green for the forests and rebirth, and Blue… for the calming waters and the daytime sky. 

Meklavar takes off her gloves. Not for the first time, Pike marvels at her small hands, far more dainty than he always expects from one who swings her axe with such authority and fierceness. Sighing softly, she turns to him, eyes no longer raging. 

“The group reminds me of the story,” she says. “Jiro’s always taking night watch for longer than we ask him to. Block is so sturdy and kind to a fault. Thunder is always so impulsive but he’s always right in a battle. Valyun,” Meklavar snorts with a fond smile, “always carries herself with the poise of royalty in the strangest moments, even if she acts like a dork sometimes.

“I grew up in the forest,” Meklavar continues. 

The way she tells him this fact feels like part of a larger story, one he isn’t privy to yet. An eyebrow shot up his brow as he asks, “I thought dwarves lived underground?”

“Not my family,” she laughs. “Our duty for generations has been to guard the forest and the Jewel of Jitan. Fitting that it’s an emerald, symbolizing the Green Lion.”

The sapphire lion sparkles amid the light from the lamps. “And… I’m the Blue Lion?” he guesses, turning the figure around, still marveling at the finery. Pike chuckles. “Adaptable maybe - no one’s ever described me as calm and nurturing.”

Meklavar grins confidently, a bit more like her typical self. “In the time we’ve been traveling I’d say you are. You’re loud, sure, but you’re always encouraging me and the others. That’s why you demanded to go with me to find the Jewel of Jitan, right? So I wouldn’t be alone? That’s its own kind of nurturing.”

Heat rushes to Pike’s cheeks and he takes an interest in the dresser drawers. So infectious is her confidence, he nearly believes her words. He likes the person Meklavar describes and if not for himself, for her he wants to be that person. Sauntering closer, he leans his elbow into her arm. “I just appealed to your brilliant mind,” he teases. “If I couldn’t find the Jewel,  _ no one _ could have. It made sense,” he reasons with a nonchalant shrug. “That’s why you couldn’t refuse to take me with.”

“And have you seen yourself in stealth mode?” Meklavar presses teasingly. She leans back against the window, hands braced against the lip. “I’m not even sure if you’re breathing half the time. To have so much control over your body is a talent not many can boast.”

Pike’s heart flutters, and to his chagrin, Meklavar still carries an aura of confidence to back up her words. “W-where are all these compliments coming from?” he blabbers uselessly. “Wasn’t yesterday I just an ‘annoying flirt’?” He raises a suspicious eyebrow. “You  _ still _ don’t know if I’m going to steal it.”

“Oh, you’re still an annoying flirt,” she confirms with joyous smile. “I know you’re not going to steal the Jewel because you’re my friend.” In that moment Meklavar pauses and gulps, suddenly a bit pale, “You mean a lot to me.”

He knows what this looks like, but he doesn’t dare believe it. For so many years Pike has longed after princesses and duchesses, barmaids and clerics, with none returning his affection. It suited him at least - he could never commit to any sort of romance with his profession. Flirting was fun in its own way, a way to initiate conversation and maybe learn a juicy secret. 

But never has he thought the arrow of love would  _ really _ strike him. Not that he’s ever flirted with Meklavar, so wrapped up in their whirlwind adventure. It seems unreal in this moment and he can hardly catch his breath. Pike has no idea what to do. This is his friend and brilliant, trusted companion - someone who knows him for being the goofy thief and skilled ninja-assassin that he can be. 

“You mean a lot to me too,” he blurts without thinking. Because it’s true. He loves Meklavar, surely, and would do anything for her, as he has already done many times over in their year together. 

He doesn’t remember romance looking like this. Yet, when the troubadour’s songs run through his mind, he realizes he’s helped her in a quest to save her home, just like the stories. For one who started as a common alley thief, he could not get closer to the ideal of a sweeping romance. 

Then why does he feel so blindsided? Surely he, a connoisseur of romantic gestures, would have -  _ should have _ \- seen this coming?

Pike waits for her next words on pins and needles. 

Meklavar shakes, a picture of nerves he’s never seen the likes of before from her, not even their raid to take back the Jewel of Jitan. Her face is red, so flushed he worries she may be ill if he didn’t know any better. “I want to continue traveling with you, even after we return the Jewel. T-to join the others again! If that’s all right?”

“Of course!” Pike says all too quickly. Spending more time with Meklavar is something he has been desiring as well. It comes as a relief too, as he’d yet to contemplate what he would do once their journey was complete. Meeting up with their friends seems like the right thing to do. 

Images of him cuddled up with her by a campfire, both of them under her thick cloak, flash in his mind, the thought alone warming his arms - he can practically feel the soft fur! He’ll stay by her side for a while longer and strive to be a dashing and encouraging thief she thinks he is.

The thief he very much would like to be for himself and for the team. And for Meklavar. 

“Great!” Meklavar says, her face the picture of relief. “I-if you want to keep the lion, my father is a very talented sorcerer… he can enchant it for you with a useful spell.”

Pike’s eyes grow wide. “He can? Wait,” he pauses, brain slowly putting together an incomplete puzzle. “I didn’t think dwarves were good with magic either.”

“That’s because you haven’t met my family,” Meklavar teases. She flops in a carefree manner back onto the large bed. “I’m relieved you like it. It was Valyun’s idea, actually, and I couldn’t agree more.”

With ease, Pike jumps onto the bed, tip-toeing around to Meklavar’s other side, where he takes his own legs out from under him and lands on his butt beside her. “You have to spill, Mek. Where’d you get this?”

“It was actually given to me,” Meklavar says simply, though the intelligent glint in her eyes tell Pike that there is far more to the story. “You’re the only one who can really appreciate it.”

Tucking the precious gift close to his chest with one arm, he wraps the other around Meklavar, pulling her close. His face rests on her helmet a bit awkwardly and for the briefest of moments he imagines nestling his face in her hair. She squeaks in surprise, but quickly hugs him back with both arms. 

“Thank you,” he says. “No one’s ever given me a gift like this. I’ve stolen so many things, but this is the most beautiful, because it's from you.”

Meklavar hums in delight, and he’s sure she would have jumped for joy had he not been holding her down with the way her shoulders constrict and cozy further into him. “I’m glad you like it,” she says, “but don’t thank me yet. We still have to get the Jewel home tomorrow. It isn’t far. By noon we’ll have a feat waiting for us.”

A gust of wind rattles the window. Outside, white flakes swirl near the building and no longer can he see across the street to the indoor market. “It’s getting pretty nasty out there, I’m glad we stopped for the night.”

Pike allows Meklavar push away gently. She walks over to the window for a better look, frowning. “I hope we can leave tomorrow. I really wanted you to see where I’m from for the Winter Festival.”

“Want to introduce me to the parents, huh?” he says brazenly. Sticking a leg up on the bed and leaning back against the pillows, he rotates the sapphire lion all around. It seems every rotation he finds a new, amazing detail to the work. Pausing, he stares into the golden eyes. A feeling of grave importance fill him - something otherworldly - and it's almost as though the figure stares  _ back _ .

He swears he hears a firm, but gentle growl. Pike gasps, head shooting up to see Meklavar directly in front of him, a worried look in her eyes. Had he spaced out for that long?

“I was saying we should probably get some sleep, since we’ll have to travel through snow tomorrow,” she tells him. 

Pike sighs with relief and flashes a grin. “Of course. You’d for sure rather be home than here with us so close. And,” he winks, “it saves us some coin.”

Meklavar rolls her eyes and plops back down on the bed, lifting the giant helmet off her head. Her long ears twitch and auburn hair frizzles out wildly. It makes Pike smile, not for the first time, at the adorable sight. Her pleased smile matches her playful eyes. “And since you weren’t paying attention earlier, my parents will like you. Don’t worry.”

He can’t help but flush, heart pounding loudly in his sensitive ears. Though he’s had time to process Meklavar’s feelings, he’s still unsure about how fast things are going. She deserves to know where he stands. 

But he can’t look at her when he starts. 

“I have to be honest, all this is still a little crazy.” He gulps, finding the courage to meet her gaze. It hurts to see the heartbreak in her eyes already. “Meklavar, I  _ do _ love you. You’re absolutely my family. I’ve never been happier to be with you.”

“But..?” Meklavar prompts sadly, bowing her head. “It’s okay, Pike. I wouldn’t expect you to feel exactly the same. And really it doesn’t matter, so long as we’re still friends.”

Pike inhales sharply. “No. No no no, it’s not like that,” he insists. “I’ve lost a lot of people I care about in my life and I don’t want to curse this. Not you and me, not the whole team. You understand, right?”

He breathes a sigh of relief when she takes his hands in hers. She looks about as relieved as he is. “Of course I do. I treasure the time I have with you, in whatever capacity it may be.” Pike can’t breathe as she leans up and kisses his cheek. “And no matter what happens tonight, tomorrow, or in the future, I can wait.”

It’s too late. With the kiss she’s unintentionally sealed Pike’s growing feelings of realization. 

Now the only thing he can do is what he’s always planned on doing - keeping her safe no matter what. 

“Thank you,” he says, leaning his forehead into hers. “Let’s get those forty winks, huh? Big day tomorrow. I bet everyone in your village is really anxious to get the Jewel back.”

“You could say that,” she tells him coyly. 

Pike isn’t sure he likes her tone, but he’s exhausted and they sit on a warm bed with blankets aplenty. She yelps and laughs when he pushes her down onto the bed. 

He could really warm up to courting Meklavar, he decides, taking in her brilliant smile and uninhibited joy.

~~~~~

That night, Pike dreams of the story of the five Lions. At the end of the saga, when Zarkon is defeated, the Blue Lion walks up to him, nuzzling and nudging him into a hug. Her fur is soft and purr soothing. Pike sees his own claws rubbing up and down her next, feeling her body vibrate with pleased growls. 

He sits in a dark void, with rivers of blue and while light streaming around him, stroking the extraordinarily soft and lifelike fur. Despite the scenery, it’s peaceful and Pike feels a sense of security he hadn't had since he was a naive child. 

_ Home _ , is the word that keeps appearing in his mind. This was the Blue Lion’s home? Or was it Pike’s home?

Or someone else. 

Pike has a strange feeling he’s in someone else’s shoes. 

His claws are gone, instead, human hands stroke the Blue Lion’s fur. The familiar weight of his tail isn’t there. Pike tips to the side, unbalanced, and falls on his face. On the dark, mirrored surface, a face that isn’t his stares up at him. He flicks one of the ugly human ears, amazed at seeing no scar across his eye. 

“Wh-what’s happened to me?” he breathes. 

_ Paladin,  _ the title echoes across the expanse, though it is never spoken. 

_ “Lance!”  _ says Meklavar’s voice.  _ “Wake up!” _

Pike wakes with a start, nestled snugly under the covers of the comfortable bed, with Meklavar looking over him in panic, dressed head to toe in armor.

“Pike!” she says hurriedly. “Thank the Ancients. We have to leave  _ now _ !”

He blinks, mind still bleary. It’s still dark out and the wind still howls outside. Snow has gathered up against the window and the fireplace dimmed, illuminating the room just enough for his eyes to see Meklavar’s scared expression.

There is nothing Pike wants to do more than to go back to sleep. He resists the urge to pull Meklavar close and do just that. But her tone demands he sit up and listen. The two of them have gone through too much on their journey for Pike’s danger sense to have dulled at all. 

So he throws off the covers and sits up, tying up his boots swiftly. “What’s going on?” he fires back.

Meklavar clutches the bag that holds the Jewel of Jitan close to her chest. “I thought we had more time,” she laments. “The shadow creatures are after the Jewel and your sapphire. Do not let go of it for any reason!”

“What?” Pike’s mind whirls, but he trusts Meklavar with his life, so he does exactly as she says. As he follows her across the threshold of the door, the window breaks behind them. Cold air pushes them down the stairs and the equally cold presence chills his soul. 

They stumble out the door of the inn. Snow pelts his face and the wind stings at his bare arms. 

Meklavar pushes on before he can even ask, so he forces himself to follow her. 

“Stay close!” she yells over the wind. “We’ll be safe soon!”

Swirling snow and cold wind are the perfect conditions for stealth and if he’d a clue of exactly who he was running from, perhaps he could make a move. Daggers sit just beneath his clothes, ready to use at any time. 

“What  _ are _ they?” he yells in panic. 

His voice is lost in the wind. The swirling snow and starless sky are perfect for stealth, though Pike feels distinctly at a disadvantage. He can’t see far in front of him - and knows Meklavar can even less. Together, they run into a snow bank. 

Pike turns and gasps. With snow as a contrasting background, a shadowy creature the size of the entire tavern drops from its hind legs to all fours. Somehow blacker than the dark, its body lets off an otherworldly presence, covered in the same stars that hide behind the clouds of this snowstorm. It lets out a terrifying roar and takes one heavy step towards them. 

It has no eyes, but it needs none. The creature’s cry pierces Pike’s very soul. Without a shadow of a doubt, he knows what it’s after. 

He stands against the biting cold and gusty winds, stepping in front of Meklavar. Rage fills his thoughts that danger would dare follow her so close to home.

Quiznak the pretty rock that was the Jewel of Jitan. 

“Don’t you  _ touch _ her,” he seethes at the creature. He holds the Jewel high in the air. “Take it if you want, leave her alone!”

“Pike,  _ no _ !” Meklavar screams. “It’ll destroy us anyway and then the world!” 

The information hits him like a ton of bricks. Meklavar knows much more, but this is no time to ask. As the beast roars back to attack, Pike grabs Meklavar close and runs. The sound of mighty weapon hitting the snow resounds behind them, kicking up snow and forcing them to the ground once more. 

“We have to get to my village!” Meklavar yells over the wind. “We’ll be safe there!”

“With that thing chasing us?” Pike says, voice pitched far higher than he likes. 

“Give me the Jewel.” Meklavar grabs for it before Pike can act and mutters, “Light as a seed, swift on the wind.” A green glow engulfs Pike’s vision. He blinks and when he next opens his eyes it is to a spring meadow.

No trace of winter is in sight. Flowers are in full bloom here and birds chatter above the trees full of green leaves and mistletoe attached to some, the only reminder that it was still winter - at least he thought. This scene seems such a world away, Pike would hardly be surprised if they’ve traveled through time or were on a different plane of existence. 

“What the quiznak…” Pike breathes as he looks around in wonder. Claws dig into soft ground and blades of grass tickle his palms. “Where are we - how did we--?”

“We are safe,” Meklavar says, her breath short. “Do you have your Lion?” At his nod, she smiles next to him and collapses onto his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I thought we had more time, otherwise I’d have gotten us here sooner.”

Pike’s heart beats quicker than he can count and not even his claws embedded in the dirt can ground him. He searches Meklavar’s eyes, mesmerized by their amber glow. Though he seeks any form of deceit, he cannot find it.

“I’m going to find my father,” Meklavar says, rising to her knees. “Then we can--”

His hand takes hold of her arm - so skinny he can hardly believe she wields the axe with such skill. “Meklavar I--” Pike pauses, unsure how to phrase his misgivings. To teleport involves magic beyond what he knows she knows, and definitely beyond him. What else doesn’t he know about her? 

Yet she’s saved his life so many times - laughed and cried with him. Mourned with him when his grandmother died and poured her heart into the most elaborate prank to give the others a chance to defeat the Highland Bandits. Surely, she faked none of that. 

“I trust you,” are the words that escape his lips, firm yet pleading. Pike doesn’t think his heart can take a betrayal right now. 

The guilt in Meklavar’s eyes is like a dagger to his heart and he braces himself.

But she squeezes his hand. “I never intended to be this secretive,” she says. Pike feels her strength as she helps him to his feet. “The Jewel of Jitan is magical, and there are people who would use it for ill. We were chased by one of them, and I used the Jewel’s magic to bring us to my home - the Jewel’s home, where we keep it safe.”

The meadow in which they stand is surrounded by giant trees, and in the middle is a statue of a man holding a sword and shield. Around the statue are five pedestals, one of which holds the Jewel of Jitan. 

“Put your sapphire on this one,” Meklavar instructs. 

Pike has already told her that he trusts her, so he takes the small figure out of his bag and places it reverently on the one next to the Jewel of Jitan. 

“Mek, why did you give it to me as a gift?” If it were just going to end up here, he doesn’t understand why--

A column of blue light erupts on top of the pedestal, reaching above even the trees. As if in a dream, a giant metal man like the statue appears in a desert wasteland, brandishing a sword and shield as if it were a human paladin. 

_ Voltron _ , the word whispers in his mind. 

“Did you see it?” Meklavar’s voice calls to him, and Pike blinks out of the dream, back in the meadow with the statue. “Did you see Voltron?”

Pike nods dumbly, numb. “What is it? I’ve never seen a creature like it.”

Meklavar frowns. “No one knows. It wasn’t until I met Valyun that I realized I should find the other four, and that as soon as I brought the Jewel of Jitan home, you all needed to see this.” She smiles brightly, breaking into his frazzled heart with warmth. “I knew you’d be the Blue Knight. I’m… so relieved.”

A knight, Pike wonders, or a  _ Paladin _ ?

Pike can’t stop the laugh that comes before he can think. “Me? A knight? Ha! Mek, I’m a thief, an  _ assassin _ . I’m the furthest thing from a knight you can possibly have.”

“Not true,” she says. Pike realizes as she tightens her grip, she never let go of his hand. “You are kind and funny and even if you try not to be, you really are selfless. You care about your friends. There is no one more I’d want to protect Voltron with, or,” her smile turns sheepish and she shrugs, “whatever it wants us to do. I just know its important if the Jewel of Jitan is a part of it.”

It still doesn’t feel right. Defeating the Coranic dragon was merely him helping a few friends. This… Voltron thing sounded like destiny, being a chosen one, and that didn’t suit Pike. People like that came from castles and more noble career lines. 

“It chose you,” Meklavar insists. “I may have given you the sapphire because I love you, but Voltron chose you.”

Pike’s jaw drops. “Wait, what?”

“Voltron chose you, you’re the Blue Knight,” Meklavar clarifies with a raised eyebrow.

“No, no, no, right before that,” Pike insists. 

Meklavar’s eyebrow furrow, and then she inhales sharply. “I gave you the sapphire?"

“No, after that, the part about,” Pike gulps. “You love me?”

Her face turns red. “I thought I made that pretty clear in the room.” She takes a deep breath. “I didn’t know if Voltron really would chose you, of course, but it was my greatest wish, our group is such a perfect fit from the story,” she rambles, eyes darting everywhere but on him, “and I - I wanted you to stay by my side for a lot longer, even if you aren’t ready for something like that. I know you’re scared and I don’t want to scare you away and I thought this would keep us together even if we weren’t courting and--”

Pike leans down, interrupting her with a short, soft kiss. “If I really am all those things you say I am, maybe I can work to defy my fate.” It is his fervent wish that if he really is one of these Knights of Voltron, that he will have the power to ensure he can protect his loved ones. “Thank you, Meklavar, for giving me the courage.”

She holds him tightly back. 

“ _ I told you so _ ,” Meklavar says, though her voice is muddled as if in a dream. 

Pike laughs, though his mouth never opens. “ _ Not too bad, Pidge. I’m glad you snuck into the Garrison that night. _ ”

“ _ Me too, _ ” not-Meklavar says. “I _ got my family back and gained another. I’m so relieved you feel the same way _ .” 

“ _ You’re my best friend. I wouldn’t have it any other way. So, what adventures are Meklavar and Pike going on next? _ ”

“ _ I dunno, Lance. I guess we’ll just have to find out together. _ ”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://rueitae.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Gifts - Meklavar gives Pike the sapphire lion  
> Snow - it is snowing  
> Mistletoe - on the trees in Meklavar's home  
> Tradition - the story of the Five Lions  
> Fireplace - in their room (it was a fancy room)  
> Wish - Meklavar wanting Pike to continue working with her (granted)  
> Festival - The Winter Festival


End file.
